


the mission gone wrong

by JustAnotherWriterChica



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, its tagged graphic but its not really, just put it there just in case, ya know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23496646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherWriterChica/pseuds/JustAnotherWriterChica
Summary: When Hera takes Sabine out on a mission by themselves, the Mandolorian thinks it will be just like the old days when they would ditch the guys and go out on fun adventures. However, when they arrive on a nearby moon for their supply run danger finds them quickly and it's uncertain if one of them is going to make it back to Chopper Base alive.
Relationships: Hera Syndulla & Sabine Wren, Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	the mission gone wrong

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone, thanks for opening up my work! I wrote this simply because I love the Ghost crew being a family and feel like the sort of mother/daughter relationship between Hera and Sabine could use some more stories. I didn't really have a certain setting/time period for this piece since I just wrote it out in the middle of the night last night and didn't review it much before posting, but I'm picturing it sometime post Malachor if y'all were wondering.

Sabine didn’t understand how it was that everything had fallen apart in front of her so quickly. It should have just been a simple supply run, so easy that Hera had only asked her along and left the boys back at base. But when had things ever been simple for them?

They had set out for supplies on a nearby moon that Sabine currently couldn’t even remember the name of. According to Rex, it held an abandoned Clone Wars base, a small one that had barely seen any use during that period. Supposedly no one had touched it in years. They were told that it should hold a supply of weapons and other things the rebellion was itching to get a hold of, making it the perfect score.

Kanan and Ezra had tried to talk their way onto the ship in all different manners but Hera had just smirked at them as she closed the _Ghost_ ’s ramp, “Sorry boys, better luck next time!”

Sabine couldn’t help but laugh as they set out, Chopper in tow, into the expanse of space. It reminded her so much of the days when Kanan and Hera had first coaxed Sabine onto their ship.

Frankly, she’d been more than a little damaged when they had scooped her up, ugly betrayals and bitter disappointments hardening her until she truly believed she didn’t need anyone. Hera took her on many missions that were “girls only” at the time to build trust between them, letting Sabine blow things up left and right or paint whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted. It was all the freedom and self-expression Sabine should have been allowed in such formative years of her life and it was liberating. It was exactly what she’d needed and somehow the Twi’lek had picked up on that from their first meeting.

And what a time they’d had together during those days. While they left Kanan and Zeb to run errands, the pair would jump to the next planet and wreak some controlled havoc on imperials in the name of rebellion. Sabine had been fully aware at the time that Hera was using their adventures as a way to get the girl to open up to her but she only put up the smallest amount of resistance to the idea. It had been so long since she felt like she could truly put her trust in someone. That was too heavy a burden for a fourteen-year-old to deal with and she had been crumbling under that weight before the _Ghost_ crew had rescued her from a miserable fate.

That was so many years ago and ever since then, it had been one battle after the next, never stopping to truly catch their breaths. Not that Sabine minded, the rebellion was the only thing that got her out of bed some mornings but a small part of her dearly missed the days when just she and Hera took on the galaxy.

This particular morning Hera had come out of a meeting looking tired as ever, so Sabine had kept her distance to let the woman go get some rest. However, ten minutes later she was being pulled aside as Hera whispered conspiratorially, “Hey Sabine, how about you and me get out of here for a bit? Like old times?”

That was all the motivation she needed to jump into the co-pilot seat.

Their flight here had been easy, filled with laughs and eye rolls as they had filled each other in on daily anecdotes they’d been missing out on. Hera was laughing so hard she was snorting as Sabine acted out the latest prank she had pulled on Zeb and Ezra while steering them towards their destination. However, as they entered the atmosphere and Hera brought them down to a landing platform both seemed to fall silent. As they looked down on the empty base Sabine felt a chill run up her spine, she didn’t need the Force to know something wasn’t right about this.

“Hera?”

“I know,” the pilot responded, lowering the landing gear and concentrating on setting the ship down. “I feel it too but let’s just get out there and see what’s going on. I’ll have Chopper keep the engines warm, just in case.”

They’d quickly made their way back down to the ramp, both with their hands hovering near their weapons as they stepped off the ship. There were about twenty yards of open clearing between them and the doors of the base which they wordlessly sprinted across. When they reached the door panel Sabine immediately dropped to one knee as she began to fiddle with the wires, Hera hovering just beside her as she kept an eye on the perimeter.

Soon enough the wires sparked and the door was sliding open to reveal a dark hallway. While the day outside was warm and bright, everything inside the small base appeared to be dark and stale. Without further discussion the women began their trek down the dark hall, moving as cautiously as they possibly could.

They had walked for about two minutes, clearing the undisturbed rooms they passed along the way when they finally spotted a light at the end of the tunnel. A few more seconds and they approached the opening, both of them pausing in front of it for inspection before breaching.

There was light filtering in from an opening in the roof and it cast shadows everywhere. Hera squinted as her eyes adjusted to the new light while Sabine scanned the room through her helmet’s lens. It seemed like everything was in order, nothing looked particularly disturbed and there were no other signs of strangers occupying the space.

“I guess we’d better start loading things up then.” Hera tucked her gun back into its holster and walked to the other side of the room. Sabine followed suit with a shrug, reaching for the nearest crate to turn on its anti-gravity.

They made the first two deliveries back to the ship without any kind of issue and were just re-entering the chamber for a third load when a booming voice startled them. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

Before either woman could react to the newcomer strong arms were entrapping them both. The man holding back Sabine trapped her arms in what could best be described as an uncomfortably tight bear hug. She didn’t need to look back to know that her captor was a mountain of a man and had the muscles to match given the way he was slightly crushing her chest. A scrawnier being with four arms had grabbed Hera and shoved her down to her knees, ripping one arm up behind her back until Hera was left to grit her teeth and hope he wouldn’t pop her shoulder out of its socket. One of his other hands grabbed at her other arm and tucked it loosely behind the other.”

A tall man with tan skin and a thick beard emerged from the shadows on the other side of the room, two thugs silently flanking his sides. The accompanying men had blasters firmly gripped in their hands and a haughty look in their eyes. “Ladies, didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not very nice to steal? Especially from Tarlak Vas and his crew, we don’t take kindly to such offenses.”

He tutted at them and Sabine couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She wasn’t really a fan of villainous theatrics. “Look this is a huge misunderstanding, we’re not trying to steal anything but obviously we’re not welcome here. So if you could just tell your boys here,” she patted one of the arms encircling her, “to drop us we’ll be on our way.”

Tarlak let out a bark of laughter. “Boys this one thinks she runs the show!” His shoulders shook as he chortled and stepped closer. “You make me laugh little Mandolorian but I’m afraid you have not found me at a favorable time. You see, we’re running a bit low on credits and I think you two are exactly the answer we need.

“You,” he glanced down at Sabine before waving his hand. “You will catch a decent price on the market but nothing special. Especially since I’m sure you will put up a fight, but worry not, some people like that.”

Sabine suppressed a shudder at the implication and instead stared down the pirate in front of her. He held her gaze for a moment before Sabine was forced to look away when the arms around her gave a squeeze that forced all the air out of her lungs.

Tarlak turned to look at Hera and his eyes seemed to light up as he grabbed her chin firmly between his grimy fingers. “However you, my dear, will catch me a handsome reward. Your kind is always so high in demand around the galaxy,” Vas’ eyes rolled over her body, “and I can see why.”

He leaned in closer, examining Hera’s features but as soon as he was close enough the Twi’lek slammed her head forward and into his nose. Tarlak shouted and grabbed at his nose which had already started gushing blood. Hera almost grinned in satisfaction but before she could do much of anything her captor was slamming her into the ground and pressing a knee down onto her back to pin her there. She grunted as the knee dug into her back and made breathing that much harder.

“You stupid bitch! You will pay for that. Get them on the ship!” Vas shouted as he stalked through a door they had failed to notice in their initial sweep of the room. Rookie mistake.

Sabine knew that if they went through that door their chances of getting back to the _Ghost_ would be slim. She glanced towards her captain who was being hauled back to her knees, “Hera?”

The pilot heaved a shaky breath and let the air rush back into her lungs before meeting the girl’s gaze and rasping, “Now Sabine.”

Just like that, all hell broke loose in the center of the abandoned base. This was probably one of the dumbest and least thought out plans they had ever concocted but neither woman was anywhere near willing to go near a slaver. For that reason alone there was a feral sort of adrenaline that pumped through their systems as they launched into action.

Sabine slammed her boot down onto the foot of her captor and it caused enough pain that he leaned forward into her. Copying Hera’s lead from before, Sabine threw her helmeted head back and head-butted the giant man, causing him to release her as he grabbed at his face.

Simultaneously, Hera had launched herself backward and used all her momentum to roll as the four-armed creature clung to her. Thankfully she ended up on top and before he could react, Hera was grabbing the creature by his shoulders and slamming him into the ground hard enough to knock him out.

Both women dove for cover as blaster shots began to ring out, Sabine cursing as one zipped far too close to her head. Thankfully in all their arrogance, these idiots had neglected to strip them of their weapons and both women began returning fire. Hera popped out from behind a wall of crates and shot off two perfectly aimed rounds, catching one guard in the chest. She ducked back behind the crates and waited for return fire from the other thug but it never came. Thinking that perhaps she or Sabine had taken him out already, Hera glanced back over the crates when she heard a shout come from where the Mandolorian had been hiding.

When Hera rushed over she found Sabine delivering a well-placed kick that sent the final thug to the ground before firing a blaster shot into his chest. Sabine was breathing heavily as Hera edged closer, reaching out to grip her arm, “Okay sweetheart, time to get out of here.”

Sabine looked up and nodded to the pilot, allowing herself to be pulled back towards the door that leads to the Ghost. They quickly picked their way through the mess in the hallway, stumbling slightly down the dark path.

They were so close to the door when a blaster shot rang out and Sabine shouted, pitching forwards as it sliced through an exposed area near her knee. Both women toppled as Sabine’s knee buckled under her. Hera was the first to pop back up and glance behind them to where the giant man was running after them. “Kriff. Of all days, why is it when I leave the boys behind,” she muttered before dragging Sabine to her feet. “We have to keep going, we’re so close.”

The warrior grunted in response and put one foot in front of the other, supported by Hera’s firm grip on her upper arm. They burst through the base door a moment later, into the bright light and found the _Ghost_ ’s ramp down, waiting for them to run up it to safety. Hera pulled her comm from her waist and barked into it, “Chop get ready for a quick exit, pull away as soon as we’re on board.”

They were so close, within ten feet, when suddenly Tarlak Vas came running out from behind their ship, shouting about how he would have their heads for the deaths of his crew as he approached. Before either woman could even think of raising a blaster Vas had pulled a dagger out from his side and launched it towards them.

It was coming straight for the Mandolorian, who probably would’ve been perfectly fine thanks to her armor, but it never hit her. Before the blade could land Sabine was knocked to the side and Hera moved in front of the spinning dagger. The world seemed to slow for a moment as the blade sank into Hera’s stomach and the Twi’lek stopped in her tracks. Sabine stopped too since Hera‘s momentum had been carrying her forward and stared at the wound, watching as blood immediately began to seep through the pilot’s uniform.

Hera whispered “ouch,” before staggering forwards a step and dropping to one knee, clutching at her stomach.

Watching the woman who was practically a mother to her collapse in pain seemed to flip a switch inside Sabine and she locked her sights on Tarlak Vas, ignoring the agony of her own leg. He seemed to realize his mistake as she stared him down through her helmet and his pace slowed as he approached her. He removed another dagger from his belt and leaped for Sabine who sidestepped his attack. He swung back around for another jab and Sabine reached out and grabbed his arm, using his momentum to flip him onto his back. When he landed Sabine took the arm still in her grasp, with the hand gripping the dagger, and slammed it into his chest.

She watched as his eyes bulged for a moment and blood gathered at his lips before he went limp underneath her. Sabine didn’t have much time to revel in that victory before Hera gasped and fell to her side a few feet away.

“Hera!” Sabine scrambled to her side and rolled the woman onto her back to get a look at the wound. Kark, that was a lot of blood. The Mandolorian was far from squeamish but seeing the blood of her loved ones always caused her to feel a little faint. “It’s okay. You’re okay. We just have to get to the Ghost and everything will be fine.”

Sabine almost believed the lie she was calmly repeating as she did her best to lift Hera off the ground, throwing one of Hera’s arms over her neck as she gripped her waist. Almost all of Hera’s weight was leaning into her side and Sabine had to use all of her strength to walk them up the ramp.

They were halfway into the ship when a blaster shot landed near one of Sabine’s feet. When she looked back she saw that their giant friend had finally emerged from the door of the base. Using the rush of adrenaline that was still surging through her, Sabine spun them around and fired off a singular perfect shot that downed the man.

Without any hesitation, Sabine called through the ship, “Chopper get us back to base! And tell them we need medical ready to receive us!”

As gently as she could Sabine deposited Hera onto the floor of the cargo bay as the Twi’lek moaned in pain. Sabine ripped off her helmet and tossed it to the side, gasping for air as though she had been drowning. She gave herself a shake before looking down at Hera who was scrunching her eyes shut in anguish as she grabbed at her stomach. The pilot’s skin was more ashen than its normal vibrant green and her eyes weren’t focusing on much as she fidgeted. “Hera? Hera can you look at me?”

Sabine raised a hand to the pilot’s face to try to get her to focus as a quiet groan came in response. Sabine would take what she could get. “Okay, we’re on our way home but in the meantime, I’m going to grab a medkit and we’re gonna take a look at this. I’ll be right back.”

Hera gave the smallest nod to acknowledge Sabine’s words as another weak groan erupted from her chest. That startled Sabine into action and she dashed across the floor of the cargo bay to rip open the storage unit that contained the medkit and some towels. Thank the Force Hera made sure they were never low on these supplies.

Sabine ran back over to where Hera lay, her blood slowly starting to spread on the floor around her. “I’m going to pull down your uniform okay?”

“Just do it, Sabine. Stop asking questions,” Hera ordered through gritted teeth as her hands clutched at the ground.

With one swift tug, the uniform was out of the way and Sabine just had to roll up Hera’s undershirt to expose the wound. Despite the amount of blood erupting from the wound, she was relieved to see that it was just one clean cut and the dagger had remained in place once it lodged itself in Hera’s stomach. It was off to the right, edging closer to Hera’s hip, but if it was anything like the dagger she had turned on Vas then it was a bit too long for Sabine’s liking.

Sabine spent the next couple minutes cleaning the area as best as she could without disturbing the wound. She was going to have to leave the knife in, Hera would lose far too much blood if she pulled it out now. The pilot, for her part, did her best not to move too much as Sabine worked but every now and then she would jerk suddenly or whimper when Sabine swiped too close to the wound. Working through Hera’s pained noises and motions was proving to be a lot and Sabine had to force herself not to look at the pilot’s anguished face every time she gasped.

“Okay,” Sabine eased as she made her final fixes, “this is the best I can do for now. But don’t worry, Chopper will get us back to base in no time.”

Hera nodded and panted, “Getting stabbed. Isn’t as bad. As I thought it would be.”

The Mandolorian allowed her eyes to roll at the terrible humor attempt. “Just shut up and concentrate on not dying. I can’t deal wi— we’re going to be at base soon.” She let the thought die out, she couldn’t let herself think about the possibility of losing Hera while she was doing her best to keep her alive.

Hera seemed to know exactly where her mind had gone as she weakly grabbed at the hand which wasn’t applying pressure to her wound. Sabine watched as Hera gave her a squeeze. It was probably meant to be reassuring but the lack of strength in the gesture only put her more on edge.

Sabine shifted her position so that she was sitting with her legs crossed just behind Hera, pulling the Twi’lek up until she was lying in her lap. She felt a warm gush under the towel that was pressed down upon the wound but ignored it for the moment. “Why did you step in front of me, you idiot? Do you have a death wish?”

The pilot trembled a bit as she tilted her head to look up at Sabine. “You. I did it for you.” Hera gritted out through clenched teeth.

“I would’ve been okay Hera! Mandolorian armor remember?” Sabine swiped away some of the sweat that had broken out on Hera’s forehead, ignoring the pallor of her skin. “Never do anything like that again. That was reckless and idiotic.”

“Mm, you al— already called me. An idiot.” Hera bit out. “Find better insults.”

Sabine rolled her eyes, of course, Hera would still be a smart ass while she was bleeding profusely. She wondered briefly if this is what Kanan had to put up with all the time when it was just him and Hera. This hero act could get old when there were only two people to share the burden.

“Talk to me?” Hera requested.

“Okay um... did I tell you about how I beat Zeb in an arm wrestle last week and now he has to let me paint his hangout?” Hera shook her head. “Okay so here’s what I’m thinking for the design...”

The Mandolorian began to rattle off her plans for her new painting while Hera did her best to pay attention, asking short questions like “blue?” or “self-portrait?” every now and then. Then just as Sabine was beginning to describe how she would paint Hera’s room if she was ever given the chance, the Twi’lek’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went limp. “Hera? Hera! Wake up!”

Sabine pressed a bloodstained hand to Hera’s neck and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a pulse but it was too weak. Far too weak. “Come on Hera, just hang on for me. Please don’t leave me, we need you.” Sabine shook their pilot’s shoulder as she pleaded, “Kanan needs you. Zeb and Ezra need you. I need you! Wake up!”

Of course, shouting at an unconscious woman did nothing except stress Sabine out even further. “Chopper!”� She practically screamed into her comm. “Hera needs help now! Get us to base!”

Chopper grumbled something back to her that Sabine couldn’t quite make out, not that she was really listening anyway. She was too focused on watching the shallow rise and fall of Hera’s chest. She could’ve sworn though that she felt the ship lurch like they were picking up speed.

Soon enough there was a jolt and Sabine knew they were exiting hyperspace. She reached for her commlink, “Chopper Base? Kanan? Does anyone read me?”

Static.

“Zeb! Ezra! Anybody!”

Another stunning moment of silence passed and Sabine felt her stomach twist. And then...

“We read you spectre five,” Zeb’s voice erupted through the commlink and Sabine could have cried. “Chopper said you guys need medical on arrival? What happened?”

“We got into a sticky situation and Hera got hurt, she’s bleeding everywhere Zeb! I’m doing the best I can but she passed out and I- I don’t— I can’t—“

Kanan’s voice crackled to life, sounding calm as ever. “Sabine, just keep doing what you’re doing. We can see the Ghost now, just get ready for us to jump on board.”

“Okay, Kanan.” If Sabine sounded like a scared child when she responded no one ever said anything about it because truly that’s what she was. Seventeen and alone and watching someone she loved bleed out in her lap.

Sure enough, the ship rumbled to a halt and soon the ramp was being lowered. Sabine watched as Kanan, Zeb and Ezra jumped on board and ran to her side. Hera seemed to stir a little at the commotion but remained unconscious as Kanan scooped her up into his arms. He took off down the landing platform where he was met by Rex and the med team who had a gurney ready to go. Hera was laid down and carted off out of sight in a matter of seconds, Kanan disappearing with her.

It was only when Hera was gone and Sabine could tear her eyes away from the bloodstains on the floor that she realized she was crying. As she sat on the floor of the cargo bay and let her body shake with silent sobs the boys came to sit next to her. Zeb wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight to his side. Ezra came and sat silently next to her, just making sure she knew he was there.

She shook with tears for a few minutes before she let out a heaving sigh, it was time to start moving again. Gently, she shrugged off Zeb’s embrace and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. “I think I’m going to go to the med bay and see if there are any updates but thank you guys, really.”

The boys smiled up at her as she got to her feet and made her way towards the ramp. She heard both of them grumble about getting the blood cleaned up and Ezra even suggested checking on Chopper. Sabine smiled at the consideration as she slowly descended from the ship.

Sabine made her way across the base with fast and shaky strides, her eyes locked onto her destination the whole time. It didn’t seem like a flurry of activity was going on as she approached and she prayed that this was a good thing. Rex emerged from the entrance as Sabine closed the distance and he caught her eye, offering her a small smile.

She pulled up short as she met the man, “Any news?”

“Ah, you know the medical droids. All business and jargon you can’t make heads or tails of, but if I know Hera then she’s gonna be perfectly fine.” Rex clapped her on the shoulder and nodded towards the hall, “Kanan is waiting just inside if you want to sit with him.”

Sabine nodded and forced a smile to her face as Rex opened the door for her. She cringed a little as the antiseptic smell hit her, bringing back the unpleasant memories that come with hospitals.

As she peered down the hall she found Kanan to be pacing outside of a door, looking lost in thought. He paused in his worry as Sabine approached though, his pale blue eyes rising in her direction. “Sabine?”

“Kanan. How is she?”

“She’s going to live. The medical droid is finishing repairing her internal wounds but she should be in the clear soon. It’s gonna be alright.” Sabine thought she could collapse upon hearing those words. Everything was going to be fine.

Actually, come to think of it, Sabine really did feel like she was going to collapse. Her world spun a little as a twinge of pain erupted in her body and she gasped as she remembered the shot that had hit her leg. She hadn’t even felt it since the initial blast, too caught up in the adrenaline of the fight and the fear for Hera’s life.

“Sabine?” Kanan questioned again as he stepped towards her. The Mandolorian reached out to brace herself against the wall. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, I may have also been shot. Just a teeny bit.” Her face scrunched as she pushed her armor down her leg, trying to get a better look at the wound.

“Shot?! You got shot and you didn’t think to mention that?” Kanan rushed over to her and began fretting about her leg, removing the armor entirely. “What is with you people and the downplaying of injuries!”

Sabine rolled her eyes, “Relax Kanan, it only grazed me. I think it’s just a little bit of burning and some blood, nothing life-threatening.”She could tell that he was still worrying, about both girls now, so she gave him something he could control. “Could you get a medical droid for me though? It would be good to get it cleaned up.”

Kanan nodded as he sighed, running a hand over his face. “Yes, yeah. I can do that. Just sit and wait here.”

Sabine watched him jog down the hall before turning back to her leg, ripping her pants open a bit further to get a better look. Just as she suspected, a small burn and some blood which was pretty much dried already. She let out a deep breath as she lowered herself into the chair sitting outside Hera’s door, taking a moment to try and properly recollect herself.

Which was incredibly hard when she knew that Hera’s blood was staining her hands and her clothes. There wasn’t an insane amount covering her but it was more than enough to make her squirm.

A minute passed before Kanan came hurrying back down the hall with a medical droid in tow. The droid had her wound cleaned and wrapped in a matter of minutes, instructing her to take it easy for a few days before departing. When it walked away Sabine asked Kanan one more favor.

“Could you get me some wet cloths to clean myself up a little? I’m uh— I’m covered in blood.”

Kanan nodded solemnly and went the opposite way down the hall, turning into a supply closet. He emerged with a few cloths before heading across the hall to rinse them in the sink of the fresher.

He passed the cloths wordlessly before dropping into the chair next to the young warrior. Sabine immediately set to work cleaning off her armor and scrubbing her hands until they felt raw. It passed the time nicely as she worked to wipe away the mark of the day’s terrible events, but that only lasted a few minutes.

It seemed like an hour had passed without any sign of a change or update. Kanan and Sabine sat silently next to each other as they anxiously waited for results. The Jedi’s leg hadn’t stopped bouncing for the past forty-five minutes and Sabine had resorted to picking at made up imperfections in her armor.

Just when Sabine thought she was about to start pounding on the door for an update, the entrance was sliding open and the medical droid was crossing the threshold.

Both of them immediately jumped to their feet. Well, Kanan jumped and Sabine pushed herself up as quickly as she could. Fatigue was starting to set in along with the dull throb of the injury. The droid spoke, “Captain Syndulla is going to make a full recovery but she requires rest and time to heal. Visitors are allowed but one at a time only.”

With that, the droid set off down the hall and left Kanan and Sabine to glance at each other. Before Sabine could even think about plopping herself back into her chair Kanan was gently nudging her towards the door. “You go first, I can wait.”

“Thank you, Kanan,” Sabine whispered. She took a deep breath and stepped into the sterile room. Sabine did her best to hide her slight limp as she walked in, not wanting Hera to notice and worry too much.

As Sabine approached her eyes did a quick scan of Hera’s body. The droid could declare her healthy until it short circuited but Sabine needed to see it with her own eyes. They had changed Hera into a hospital gown of sorts but it looked to be a size too big, making the Twi’lek seem smaller than ever. Her complexion had returned though and despite the various drips and wires sticking to her, she seemed stable and alive.

When Sabine’s eyes finally tracked to Hera’s face she found the other woman slowly blinking her way back to consciousness. Green irises that appeared a bit glazed over, probably from the drugs, met hers and Hera smiled. The wobbly grin seemed to be some kind of mixture of happiness and melancholy.

“The droid said you’re gonna be okay Hera,” Sabine commented as she pulled a chair up to the hospital bed. “You gave me a big scare today.”

Sabine let out a little laugh at her major understatement but then her eyes watered simultaneously and she had to bite back a sob.

“Hey, hey,” the pilot cooed to her. It reminded Sabine so much of her first few months on the _Ghost_ when she would constantly wake up from nightmares that brought Hera sneaking through her door to her bedside. This soothing tone would pull her from a restless sleep and sit up with her until she wasn’t scared to shut her eyes again.

Hera reached out a hand and Sabine scooped it up in hers. “Look at me, I’m okay. We got into some trouble today but we’re both still here. Maybe a little worse for wear, but I’ll recover.”

“I know,” Sabine hiccuped. She ran a hand across her face, trying to wipe away the tears somewhat frantically. “Sorry, I’m being such a baby. You just scared me so badly today, Hera. For a minute I really thought you were going to die in my lap and I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life.”

Hera gave her hand a squeeze, so much stronger than the one she had attempted earlier that day. Her other hand came across the bed to cradle the girl’s face, using a thumb to brush away the tears. “It’s okay to cry sweetheart, it was scary and I’m sorry you were ever put in that position. You shouldn’t have had to deal with all that but you were so brave. I’m here right now because you were strong, even though you were terrified. Remember that.”

“Those guys were the worst,” Sabine sniffled through another sob.

Hera let out a small laugh and did her best to ignore the pain that rocketed through her abdomen because of it. “Yeah, they were the worst. And they were kind of idiots too. I mean what kind of name is Tarlak?”

Both women erupted into laughter at the notion. “That was bad,” Sabine admitted. “And they were terrible pirates, who lets their hostages keep weapons?”

“Exactly!”

Sabine laughed until she couldn’t, the stress of the day working itself out in their shared giggles. But when her laughs finally subsided the reality of the situation struck the Mandolorian once more.

She peered at Hera in her hospital gown that was a size too big and heaved a great sigh, “I need you to understand that I’m mad at you for what you pulled today.” Hera opened her mouth to talk but Sabine pushed onward. “Like I told you before, it was reckless and inconsiderate. You’ve got a job here Hera, people who count on you everyday to lead them. You’re a captain in the rebellion, they don’t just hand those titles out to anyone. And we have a family here that needs you! I appreciate what you did but I never want you to do anything like that ever again because if you...”

Sabine trailed off and Hera cocked her head, waiting for her to finish. “Just please don’t ever do something like that again. It was brave but it was so dumb. If you had died I would have blamed myself and honestly, that might’ve killed me anyways.”

“Sabine.” Now Hera looked like she was the one on the verge of tears. “First of all, I need you to know that nothing that happened today was your fault. The only people who are at fault are all gone now so don’t worry over assigning blame, that’s settled and done. And secondly, I would take that hit again and again if it meant keeping you safe.

“You are one of the most important people in my world, in my whole kriffing universe. You’re my family. I get up and fight every day because I want you, and Kanan and Zeb and Ezra to have a better future. All of this,” she waved her hand around them, “is for you guys and I need you to be alive to experience the future we’re building. Got it?”

Sabine grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest, “I guess.”

“Hey.” Hera’s voice turned hard, demanding attention, and Sabine snapped her eyes back to the Twi’lek’s face. Her features softened once more though as Hera sighed. “It wasn’t smart what I did today, you’re right, and even though I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, I should have been more considerate. I put you in a really hard place and that wasn’t fair, I’m sorry. I have to say I’m also reallyproud of the way you handled yourself though.”

The warrior’s face broke out into a contained grin. “Well I learned from watching the best.”

Hera breathed out a soft laugh as she settled back into her bed. She would never admit it but her body was tired and pain was still radiating through her abdomen. Not to mention her shoulder that was definitely worse for wear.

Sabine settled back in her own chair, wincing as her leg protested the new position. Thankfully Hera hadn’t been looking and missed that entirely. Sabine looked back to the captain and asked, almost in a whisper, “Can I just sit with you for a little while?”

“Of course sweetheart,” Hera responded without opening her eyes, the drugs already lulling her back to sleep as the room quieted. Her last conscious thought was of the calloused hand that slipped into her own once more before she was pulled back into darkness.

It had been about half an hour since Kanan had heard any kind of chatter from within the room and he figured it was time to check that out. During that half hour the boys had also come round to tell him that they had cleaned the cargo bay already and to receive an update. Kanan had instructed them to join him, they would sit and wait until he was done visiting Hera to see her.

The boys had been anxiously waiting for their turns while doing their best not to eavesdrop on the conversation going on inside. When the voices had dropped off Kanan figured Sabine would walk out any minute but the Mandolorian never set foot outside.

At the forty five minute mark, they decided it couldn’t hurt to take a peek in. Quietly as possible they opened the door and peered through. Well, Zeb and Ezra did. Kanan just hung back and waited for their all clear.

Zeb couldn’t help the smile that rose to his face as he looked at the scene in front of him while Ezra turned and told Kanan they would have to wait a little while longer.

Both girls were asleep, Sabine in her chair and Hera in her cot, but they were connected in every possible way. Sabine’s head was tucked up against Hera’s legs as she leaned on the bed while the Twi’lek’s left hand had tangled itself in her hair. Hera’s right hand was also being clutched by one of Sabine’s hands. They were touching as much as physically possible, probably trying to ground themselves after their ordeal, and Zeb couldn’t help but find it endearing.

The boys stepped back and let the door shut in front of them before turning back down the hall. They could wait on the _Ghost_ for a couple hours until they were allowed to visit with Hera.

“So,” Ezra started, “is this how all the ‘girls only’ missions went back in the day?”

Kanan and Zeb considered the question a moment before answering with a simultaneous, “more or less.”

“They still always went better than the ‘guys only’ missions though, that’s for sure.” Kanan quipped and Zeb laughed as he thought back to their days of errand running. They always involved a lot less errands and a bit more running.

“While we’re waiting, why don’t we tell Ezra about that time Hera sent us to get a replacement flux drill and we had to run halfway across a planet.” Zeb clapped Kanan on the shoulder as the Jedi immediately turned red.

“We’ve been over this so many times, how was I supposed to know that the girl I ran into was the visiting princess! It’s not like she had a name tag.”

“Okay, okay now you have to tell me this story!” Ezra interjected as they walked up the _Ghost’s_ ramp.

As they raised the ramp to close the cargo bay off, Zeb began, “Well it all started when Kanan was trying to impress Hera but managed to blow up her drill, like an amateur, instead.”

“Hey!”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for the read! let me know what you thought!


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